By no means am I arguing that any of these specific items are the best for the job. We aren't all made of money, able to run off and buy the latest and greatest gadgets and gear. My goal is to demonstrate how to use what is already on hand to get started. Don't worry if something isn't ideal. Preparedness is an ongoing process, and everything can be replaced or supplemented later on. "A job well begun is a job half done," the saying goes, so let's begin!
Left: this ammunition box from Harbor Freight still requires testing for water resistance, but should be sufficient to keep the contents somewhat protected regardless.
Top row: leather gloves, a weather radio with its USB charging system, a Buck model 117 Small Special fixed-blade knife with sheath, and a Mini Maglite AA LED model with a sheath. The Buck knife is a high-dollar item, but just small enough to fit in this container, and far better than the abysmal Grand Way knife I recently reviewed.
Middle row: a coil of parachute cord, a notepad, a package of various needles, a package of thread spools, and a handkerchief.
Bottom row: a matchbook, two CR123A batteries, and several AA batteries. The plastic bags should ensure the batteries don't discharge or corrode in storage. The radio and flashlight both use AA batteries. The CR123A batteries are for the Streamlight flashlight I always carry, although it can also use a standard AA at the cost of dimmer output, so perhaps I should omit the specialty batteries. On the other hand, if there is an emergency, I think I also want all the lumens I can get.
This assortment does not fulfill all of the items in my C's of survival checklist, but it's a good start. More can be added, or this can be stuffed into a backpack alongside other items to better complete that list. I have a cutting tool, a combustion device, cordage, a cotton bandana, a canvas needle (along with more sewing stuff), a candling device, communications, and protective clothing in the form of work gloves. I need to find a pen or pencil to add. I carry a Fisher Space Pen in my pocket, but if the notepad is to be more than fire starting tinder, I'd prefer to have a writing tool included here, too. I think I have a stash of mechanical pencils somewhere, so I will take a look after I finish this post.
To expand on this, I can add the blue tarp under everything as cover, although this one is not very durable. A more complete kit also needs at least a water container, a compass, food, some extra seasonal clothing, and a few comfort items like toilet paper. I am also working on a better first aid solution than the glorified Band-Aid box I had in my old car kit. I am also weighing whether I should replace the Buck 117 with my model 110 folding knife and a multitool, but I don't want to needlessly duplicate items I already carry every day.
Depending on your needs, this kind of kit could be part of a go bag for evacuation emergencies, or a car kit you keep in your vehicle when you are on the road. What would you add or remove? How would you pack such a kit aside from in a backpack? Can you gather a similar kit and share it here? Comment below!
Butane torch. Or a propane torch. Highly important.
Solar panel with rechargeable jump boxes.
My Fenix light was rechargable. And a USB cable and power box and next thing it's topped off. Besides the extra 18650 batteries.
I've got a Kershaw camp 18, crkt chosen tomahawk. And Leatherman wave. It has the diamond file. Immensely helpful.
Don't forget the 1377 and 1322 crossman pump action pellet pistols. I need to get the shoulder stock and upgrades for it. I have 1500 rounds for it at a cost of 2.5 lbs. About the same weight as one of them. And it can shoot up to 100 yards out if need be. It's flying projectiles at that range but you can put rounds on target.
I have a Leatherman Wave on my belt as my EDC. The radio has a solar panel, although it is admittedly very small. I would add my Biolite camp stove as another power source.
I also plan to include a surplus entrenching tool and my Hazard Fraught hatchet for now.
Firearms, air rifles, pellet guns, slingshots, bows, etc. for survival are a massive subject. My first choice would probably be a .22 rifle, since it can feasibly take deer-sized game with a well-placed shot, and while a tactical .22 is a terrible combat option, it's a hell of a lot better than nothing, too.
I haven't looked into it fully so I'm partially talking out of my ass but right now if I wanted a survival 22LR that could be used for defense in a pinch I'd go with a 10-22 Takedown with the Magpul Takedown stock and a few 25 round clear-sided BX25 mags. And probably at least a Volquartsen extractor. Not sure if I'd go with an optic. My first thought is a 3x fixed prism but I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to magnifying optics.
Irons or an upgraded peep sight system would be fine. On a 10/22, I think the standard setup has both sights on the barrel, so they would remain aligned no matter what the takedown process involves.
I am also intrigued by the AR7 survival rifle, but I hear the various manufacturers over the years have highly varied quality.
I don't know how useful any of the break-action over/under survival guns with rifle and shotgun barrels would be in practice.
Don't get the ar-7 many issues and very rarely does it actually shoot accurately.
The 10-22 is a great option
And the pump up pellet pistols are even better 2x the ammo per weight.
And as for the Ruger? Volquartzen extractor, bolt hold open device, and the extended charging handle and spring assembly. And as well titanium firing pin... All are needed. I'd recommend the folding stock or the tapco stock chassis. That can be equiped with a folding device as well.
And mags? Only steel lipped ones. And yes I prefer the clear ones but any of the Ruger bx25 mags are great.
Re: BX25s, I'm pretty sure they still use the old molds for the black sided ones which have poorly engineered plastic lips that are supposed to keep the magazine tighter in the magwell. The clear ones fix this, and it's pretty funny to see they only bothered to fix it on the clear sided mold. This is with BX25s bought a year ago. New stock might have fixed the issue with the black mags, but I kinda doubt it. The fix for mags that don't have the bigger bigger bit of plastic there isn't something I'd do on a survival gun. And having clear sided mags lets you know how much ammo you've loaded without having to count and of course how much you have left in there which is good in that scenario as well.
Any 22 you're keeping for survival should be well worked out as far as reliable function goes: Figure out which high-velocity hollow point ammo works and cycles reliably, and work out all other kinks before you really need to rely on it.
Vs. the Magpul takedown stock, a folding stock might be a better way to do it since you don't need to assemble it and you can better rely on the zero holding than a Takedown. And a non-takedown 10-22 is more cost effective and available too. My theory on the Takedown would be to keep it compact in a case or backpack until you need it and then keep it on a sling from then on.
Your not gonna take it apart.
Immediate action and you have to pull it out?
While the takedown rifle is a great idea? It's really not an option you are gonna use. That pouch? In the trash. It's not even durable. Coming from someone that has a pile of Ruger products... Nope.
The receiver. Go get the steel one. Not the flimsy one with the optic rail screws that pop out.
And as for the bx mags. Never seen then ever malfunction. Mine are fine. However it's due to the full zolquartzen list of parts. And by the way? All that list is a must have. Or just buy it all as a set and build it.
And the clear mags? I'll have to say my set of Butler creek 25 round clear mags which are actually functional however isn't able to be disassembled.
But yeah is
The clears are on my want list. I've got a ton of other toys though.
So in a chassis. I e had a combat vet laugh at me. Until I pulled out the mag loader. With it I can always have a topped off mag. With it I can dump ammo at a rate that dwarfs a military unit.
Simple math. I keep loading and shooting? And you run out. I have full mags... It's a slaughter.
My USMC brother challenges me on shooting. All the time. He quit after I had the mag full when he only had a single round in his mag. I won that bet. Pretty high stakes times at the family range.
And for a 22? I love the micro red dots. Get the zolquartzen receiver or you can snap off the Reger scope rail as the screws are tiny and rip out of the receiver.
I didn't mention it because I wasn't sure a red dot would be good enough, but as far as they go I think the SPARC Solar is a great option for survival. It's a T-2 clone dot that has a solar panel on top and they claim up to 150,000 hours (~17 years) battery life with some help from the sun. And they use CR2032 batteries so if yours ever ran down, a replacement is small/lightweight and if you don't have a replacement, they're common enough in PCs, laptops, etc that you might be able to scavenge one.
I've went with the holosun 507v2 with a scalerworks cowitness mount. With Troy irons for versatility. I can slap it on anything.
Lighter weight is important if you run a stock receiver. Just a hint. Bigger and you have more stress from recoil. Besides any hits...
Such a great first paragraph. So many don't know where to start or feel they need to get all the high-end gear which puts them off. I know people whose emergency and prepping gear is almost one hundred percent from garage (yard) sales, second hand stores and other such places where they can buy things cheaply.
In my opinion the most important thing is that a person is thinking about being a little better prepared and actively moving towards it.
Mindset and the will to take action matter far more than budget.
Well said indeed. If only the message got through.
Maybe add a desiccant bag or one of those metal desiccant holders. Or roll your own rechargeables with garbage-tier tea balls and loose desiccant pellets from a bag.
On that note I'm not sure I'd trust the Harbor Freight plastic cans to be air/water tight. I have one and I'm not impressed with the quality. They're cheap on sale, I know. But depending on where and how long you store the kit, the container can make or break it.
A box that size is big enough to include some basic first aid for scrapes/scratches/shallow cuts. Alcohol wipes or a small 70% isopropyl bottle with small cotton patches or the like (gun cleaning patches for dual purpose?), generic triple antibiotic or neosporin, and a handful of bandaids. Beyond that, small/cheap over the counter pharmaceuticals like generic tylenol, advil, benadryl, pepto bismol caplets, and maybe even caffeine (Vivarin) or modafinil if you have it.
Thin emergency ponchos and mylar space blankets are cheap, lightweight, and can be packed flat so they don't take much room, and can help against exposure.
I have a couple slightly-better Plano boxes. And yes, a second box with first aid supplies and a poncho would go a long way toward completing a better kit. I know I could also make some changes here and make more room in the one box.
Some good stuff in here! My survival kit is not too complicated but I should put it in the harbor freight ammo box too, it’s not holding any ammo right now lol. One of my favorite things is a multi tool. Those things are great!